Worsbrough Mill
OS grid reference- SE 349 033
Worsbrough Mill, also known as Worsbrough Corn Mill and Worsbrough Mill Farm, is a complex of buildings in Worsbrough Country Park, these include a seventeenth century water powered mill and a nineteenth century steam-powered mill.
Worsbrough Country Park is situated around 2 miles to the south of Barnsley. The mill is open to the public and takes its water from the River Dove, but is hydraulically separate from Worsbrough Reservoir.
A mill was recorded at Worsbrough in the Domesday Book of 1086. The oldest part of the mill standing today dates from about 1625 and forms the two storey stone building known as the Old Mill, which houses the waterwheel. Before the Mill House was built in the mid eighteenth century the miller and his family would have lived in the mill itself. There are large fireplaces on both the ground and first floors and the lintel over the fireplace on the first floor is inscribed with several dates and initials of the millers.
The oldest building in the present complex, known as the Old Mill, consists of a two-storey watermill with huge lintels over the doors and houses the waterwheel. The water powered Old Mill is still able to grind wheat in the traditional way.
The New Mill was originally steam-driven and contained a Watt-type beam engine which was scrapped in 1922. During the restoration of the Mill buildings in the 1960s and early 1970s a 1911 model Hornsby hot bulb oil engine originally from Sykehouse Windmill was installed by Geoff Hatfield (Millwright). The engine still functions, but is not linked to the millstones in the New Mill. The building is known to have been completed 1843 but was not present on a detailed map of 1840. Visitors can tour the working water mill on and learn about the milling process, following it from beginning to end.
Tranquil Worsbrough Country Park holds Local Nature Reserve status and covers 240 acres. It includes the 60-acre Worsbrough Reservoir, which was constructed for the opening of the Dearne and Dove Canal in 1804. The Parks 60 acre reservoir is a haven for wildlife and is open to anglers and bird watchers. The Park has well maintained footpaths and cyclepaths that meander through Willow Carr and around the circumference of the reservoir passing meadowlands that are rich in wild flowers.
The Mill Shop sells Worsbrough Mill organic flour, which is still traditionally ground in the mill, as well as a selection of cereal products. The Millers Tea Room has a wide selection of light lunches, coffee and cakes.
Visitor Attractions in Yorkshire